For centuries gutters and downspouts have been installed on buildings in order to properly channel to the ground the water running off of building roofs. Without a gutter, the considerable amount of run-off water from a roof would haphazardly barrage the ground immediately below the roof edge, producing either unsightly eroded trenches or depressed marshy areas, and potentially damaging a building's foundation and/or flooding the basement. Gutters, on the other hand, when operating efficiently, promote effective drainage of the roof run-off water without these deleterious effects.
There are, unfortunately, several problems commonly associated with gutters. Not only does a gutter serve as a collection channel for water, but also for debris, such as leaves, sticks, roofing material and the like, which might be either blown onto a roof or deposited thereon by an overhanging tree. Deposited debris acts as a dam in the gutter and tends to preclude the water contained in the gutter from reaching a downspout. In this situation, the water either stagnates in the gutter or collects to the extent that it haphazardly overflows the gutter, thereby causing the same deleterious effects described above.
It is at least an annual chore in most locations, especially where there are trees of any size, to remove the leaves, sticks and other debris that accumulate in gutters of the type commonly used on residences. This material must be removed in order to permit the proper drainage of the water received from the adjacent roof in order to prevent overflow, thereby defeating the purpose of the gutters. Further, with many gutters, particularly steel gutters, it is desirable that the drainage be free or unblocked in order to eliminate rusting.
The aforesaid gutters are normally maintained in position by means of gutter spikes, ferrules or clips, which are secured to the roof. In either event, these clips, ferrules and spikes interfere with the cleaning process. Homeowners use various tools, such as trowels, spatulas and the like, for this generally disagreeable task.
In order to successfully clear the gutters it is usually necessary to either approach the gutter from the roof, or to approach it from a ladder. One typically must get the tool under the spikes, ferrules or clips in order to successfully reach the debris and be sure that the bottom of the gutter is clear. Further, it is desirable that the user be able to view the tool as it is moved along the trough of the gutter. Some attempts have been made nonetheless to provide tools, which can be used by the homeowner while he is on the ground adjacent the side of the home. These tools typically include elongated links of tubes or the like and require operation of the tool from the end of a tool handle while preventing observation of the gutter itself. It is usually impossible for an operator to ascertain the location and quantity of debris deposited in a gutter unless he first ascends to the building roof for an inspection. Tools manipulated from the ground rely on the operator's ability to “feel” the debris in the overhead gutter. Often, however, such guesswork is inaccurate and inefficient. Additionally, as a portion of this kind of tool rests on the exterior of the gutter, damage to the gutter's exterior is possible. Furthermore, such tools are cumbersome because of their length and it is unlikely that they are in extensive use.
A gutter-clearing tool mounted on an elongated handle may be difficult to operate if the tool is bulky or heavy. For example, a blade may be attached to a rod, and the blade may be passed under the gutter spikes, clips or ferrules in a forward motion and away from the user, and then pulled backward and toward the user, hopefully clearing debris along the way. Unfortunately, while passing the blade forward, debris will be pushed forward, and away from the user, thereby defeating the purpose of the tool. Additionally, if there is a substantial amount of debris in the gutter trough, debris will pass over the top of the blade and fall behind the path of the blade while pulling the tool toward the user, once again defeating the purpose of the tool by leaving this “overflow” debris in the wake of the tool.
Some clearing tools compound the difficulty by providing a handle to be held in one hand and a tool-controlling rope, or pulley, which must be held in the other hand. Devices of this type necessitate an undue degree of operator agility, strength, and balance.
Therefore, it can be seen that needs exist for an improved gutter-clearing tool. It is to the provision of a tool meeting this and other needs that the present invention is primarily directed.